Boris Johnson is branded a sexist for 'inappropriate' Commons behaviour

Written by James Millar on 27 March 2018 in Diary

Diary

Speaker John Bercow blew up at the Foreign Secretary and got a round of applause for the telling off

Boris Johnson received a tongue lashing in parliament today for being 'sexist'.

The Foreign Secretary referred to his Labour opposite number Emily Thornberry as Lady Nugee. But Bercow, acting he claimed on the advice of parliamentary clerks, intervened telling Johnson that there was no place for 'name-calling' in the House of Commons and adding that referring to someone by the name of their spouse was 'sexist'. Thornberry is married to High Court judge Sir Christopher Nugee, as the wife of a knight she could style herself Lady Nugee and Tories like to use the title to point up her wealthy upbringing. But Bercow told Boris Johnson: "We do not address people by the titles of their spouses," before adding, "It is inappropriate and frankly sexist to speak in those terms."

Johnson initially seemed unmoved which only annoyed Bercow further. The Speaker said such language is "not legitimate and it will be called out" and he finished his rant by insisting "Believe me, that is the end of the matter".

The Speaker's intervention drew applause and cries of 'Well said!' from the opposition benches.

The Foreign Secretary would apologise eventually for "any inadvertent sexism or discourtesy".